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KILLER SUPERBUGS was RE: [at-l] pasteurization of water
Sounds like "The Secret Life of Germs" by Philip M. Tierno, Phd. reading this
book will also make you somewhat paranoid about hand washing and public
facilities. Phil is a former neighbor and i read it on his wife's
recommendation.
Rich
W. Neal wrote:
> I recently read a book on killer bacteria/viruses/etc. One blurb mentioned
> new hardy bugs that can sit in a pot of boiling water or in disinfectant
> that is suppose to kill them. Apparently we are so quick to reach for
> anti-biotics that some bugs have turned into super-bugs: The common bugs
> they would have to compete with are killed by the meds; this allows the
> resistant bugs to live on. One of the recommendations was to not reach for
> anti-biotics at the drop of a runny nose. Make sure that you have something
> that can be treated by antibiotics; a lot of doctors are so tired of being
> whinned at that they prescribe meds that cannot really treat their patient's
> illness. Then take the whole treatment and don't stop just because you feel
> better; stopping short, you've probably killed the weak competitor bugs and
> the hardy bugs have a chance to kill you without having any competitors to
> fight with. As for boiling, they did not say much, but I'd filter and
> filter and then boil if I suspected the water. And a rolling boil is always
> good.
>
> I must admit that I use to drink any water at anytime and anywhere. Now, I
> wouldn't. Some clear sweet water pouring out of a rock in North Carolina
> gave me something like a bad flu. Had some "good" dreams, but the fever and
> aches weren't worth the visions. I survived -- I think :-)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bryan Kramer [mailto:jbkramer@afn.org]
> Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 8:59 AM
> To: 'Lamar Powell'; at-l@backcountry.net
> Subject: RE: [at-l] pasteurization of water
>
>
> Zounds! I would not accept this without a lot more proof. For one thing
> that is NOT what pasturization is and I know that some bacteria are
> perfectly happy in 90 or 95 degree C water.
>
> Bryan
>
> >
> > I found this on the web: www.accessone.com/~sbcn/solarwat.htm
> >
> > "Contrary to what many people believe, it is not necessary to
> > boil water to make it safe to drink. Also contrary to what
> > many people believe, it is usually not necessary to distill
> > water to make it safe to drink. Heating water to 65º C (149º
> > F) for 6 minutes, or to a higher temperature for a shorter
> > time, will kill all germs, viruses, and parasites.3 This
> > process is called pasteurization and its use for milk is well
> > known though milk requires slightly different time
> > temperature combinations. One obvious problem that arises
> > with pasteurization is the question of how to tell when and
> > if the water has reached the right temperature. Solutions to
> > this problem will be covered in the next section.
> > Pasteurization will not help if water is brackish or
> > chemically contaminated."
> >
> >
> > I found this part of the article particularly interesting:
> >
> > "Regardless of the type of solar cooker used, a way of
> > knowing that the water reached the pasteurization temperature
> > is needed. An inexpensive device that does this was
> > developed, and is shown in the Fig. 2. It is a plastic tube
> > with both ends heated, pinched, and sealed, and with a
> > particular type of soybean fat in one end that melts at 154º
> > F. The tube itself is buoyant, but is weighted with a washer
> > so it sinks to the bottom (coolest) part of the water, with
> > the fat in the high end of the tube. If the fat is found in
> > the low end of the tube at any time after, the water reached
> > the proper temperature, even though the water may have since
> > cooled down. A nylon string makes it easy to take the tube
> > out without recontaminating the water. The tube is reused by
> > flipping it over and sliding the string through the other
> > way. This device works in any size water container, costs
> > about $3, and is available from Solar Cookers International,
> > 1724 11th Street, Sacramento, California, 95814, (916)
> > 444-6616. This device also works with fuel-heated water.
> > Since heating the water to the pasteurization temperature
> > rather than the boiling point reduces the energy required by
> > at least 50%, the fuel savings offered by this simple device
> > alone is considerable.
> >
> > Figure 2: A Water Pasteurization Indicator. The indicator
> > would sit at an angle in the bottom of a water container.
> > This device works anytime when water is pasteurized in
> > batches regardless of the source of the heat. If one were
> > burning fuel to pasteurize pots of water the pasteurization
> > indicator would still be usable, as long as one didn't get
> > the nylon string too close to the fire. Since heating the
> > water to the pasteurization temperature rather than the
> > boiling point reduces the amount of energy required by at
> > least 50%, the fuel savings offered by this simple device is
> > considerable."
> >
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